The Influence of Older Adolescents on Younger Adolescents: Do Grade-Level Arrangements Make a Difference in Behaviors, Attitudes, and Experiences?

Abstract

In considering the issue of different grade-level arrangements for early adolescents, many scholars have chosen to look only at the degree of similarity of developmental characteristics between different grade levels and have not empirically examined the consequences of combining them. Using MANOVA on almost 3,000 seventh through ninth grade students in a suburban school district as it changed from a 6-3-3 to a 6-2-2-2 structure, we explored the influence of older students on younger students at each grade level in terms of participation, substance use, perceptions of the school environment, victimization, dating/sexual behavior, and self-evaluations. Results indicated that the presence of older students does affect the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of younger students, particularly their perceptions of the school environment, participation, and substance use. The effects were stronger for ninth graders placed with tenth graders than for seventh and eighth graders placed with ninth